General Appeals Director - Criminal Appeals

Job Posting Title

General Appeals Director - Criminal Appeals

Agency

049 ATTORNEY GENERAL

Supervisory Organization

Office of Attorney General

Job Posting End Date (Continuous if Blank)

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the posting end date above.

Estimated Appointment End Date (Continuous if Blank)

Full/Part-Time

Full time

Job Type

Regular

Compensation

Job Description

Date Open: Immediately

Date Closed: Friday, August 15, 2025

Title: General Appeals Director

Salary Range: Commensurate with experience and qualifications

Location: Oklahoma City, OK or Tulsa, OK

The Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General is currently seeking a General Appeals Director in our Criminal Appeals Unit.

Position Summary:

The Criminal Appeals Unit ("Unit") represents the state in the criminal appeals process to ensure that the lawful decisions rendered by judges and juries are upheld in the appellate courts. The successful candidate will be responsible for assisting the Chief and Deputy Chief of Criminal Appeals in overseeing the Unit's non-capital state-court practice, including training and reviewing the work of new Criminal Appeals attorneys, developing and providing supplemental and/or advanced training as needed, representing the State in complex state-court cases, mooting and supervising state-court oral arguments, and other duties as assigned. The successful candidate must maintain the integrity of the Attorney General's Office as well as the confidentiality of information as required by the Attorney General.

Essential Functions Specific to General Appeals Director:

• Assist the Chief and Deputy Chief of Criminal Appeals in overseeing the Unit's non-capital state-court litigation, which is largely before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, including training new unit attorneys and developing and providing supplemental training for advanced criminal law practitioners as needed.

• Along with the Chief and Deputy Chief, interview candidates for Unit openings and advise the Chief and Deputy Chief on hiring recommendations.

• Provide first-line review for all attorneys new to the unit until they are ready to graduate training and be moved to a regular reviewer; meet with new attorneys on a regular basis to provide guidance, support, feedback, and constructive criticism as needed. In order to ensure accurate and thorough briefing on the part of new attorneys, this requires review of the district court record in those cases assigned to the new attorney until the General Appeals Director, Chief, and Deputy Chief agree such a practice is no longer necessary. Advise and assist the Chief or Deputy Chief in assigning cases to new attorneys that are at an appropriate difficulty level and provide a diversified training experience.

• Provide first-line review for other attorneys as needed and in the discretion of the Chief and Deputy Chief.

• Organize, prepare materials for, and participate in non-capital state-court oral argument moots; and attend non-capital state-court oral arguments with the arguing attorney.

• As needed, oversee and assist in any non-capital state-court evidentiary hearings.

• Monitor non-capital state-court decisions to keep abreast of changes in the law and advise the Chief and Deputy Chief and other unit attorneys regarding legal developments as needed.

• Develop unit procedures to improve the quality and efficiency of our non-capital state-court practice and filing protocols.

• Provide critical support to the Chief and Deputy Chief by proactively managing personnel matters, ensuring smooth operations and effective resolution of issues within the Director's oversight, in an effort to contribute to the overall success of the Unit.

• Collaborate with the Chief and Deputy Chief to prospectively forecast and plan for the future of the Unit.

• Other duties as assigned.

Essential Functions Applicable to All Attorneys Within Criminal Appeals Unit:

• Agree to participate and cooperate in the Unit's multiple-level review process, which includes review of all court filings (with the exception of non-substantive filings such as extension requests) and submissions to other entities (e.g., the Pardon and Parole Board) by a Senior Assistant Attorney General or Director, Chief or Deputy Chief, and (for all capital or otherwise complex or especially important matters) the Solicitor General.
• Make edits as directed during the review process. Respectfully discuss any changes regarding which there is disagreement or confusion with the first-level reviewer and/or Chief/Deputy Chief as appropriate.
• Meet all internal deadlines for peer review-specifically, briefs, other pleadings, or any other document being reviewed should be submitted to the reviewing attorney (Senior Assistant Attorney General or Director) at least ten days prior to the document's external deadline (e.g., the filing deadline set by the court).
• Complete all assigned cases and duties such that cases and duties do not have to be reassigned.
• Manage sometimes competing deadlines and formulate plans and goals to meet both short- and long-term deadlines.
• Correctly analyze, interpret, and apply case law.
• Read appellate records thoroughly and carefully and prepare notes of the record.
• Write briefs coherently and persuasively and at the standard required by the Unit's leadership. Specifically, at the time drafts are submitted initially to the first-level reviewer, the draft shall have been thoroughly researched, clearly and effectively written, and carefully proofread to the point that the draft is virtually free of typographical errors.
• Meet or exceed the Unit's average productivity level-for non-capital matters, three briefs or one special assignment (such as an oral argument) per month; for capital matters, one brief or one special assignment (such as an oral argument or clemency packet) per month.
• Assignments are within the sole discretion of the Chief and Deputy Chief, and the employee must be willing to accept and work on a variety of types of case assignments (whether regular briefs or special assignments, etc.) with a positive attitude.
• Other duties as assigned.

Other Duties Applicable to All Criminal Appeals Attorneys:

• Represent the State in criminal appellate cases before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.
• Represent prison wardens in federal habeas actions before the Oklahoma federal district courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
• Represent the State and prison wardens before the United States Supreme Court on certiorari review from both state and federal proceedings.
• Represent the State in any other matters as assigned by the Chief or Deputy Chief, including, but not limited to, evidentiary hearing or other proceedings in state district court, civil actions related to criminal issues (e.g., method of execution challenges), etc.
• Moot other attorneys as needed for oral arguments and Pardon and Parole Board presentations.
• Complete other special projects as assigned (e.g., Attorney General opinions, amicus brief reviews, etc.).
• Maintain integrity and confidentiality of information of the Attorney General's Office.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

Must be, or be eligible to become, a licensed attorney in the State of Oklahoma with at least five (5) years of relevant experience. Strong writing, research, and oral advocacy, and proofreading/editing skills, as well as superior attention to detail, are required. Prior oral argument and evidentiary hearing experience preferred.

All external applicants must agree in writing to complete, and satisfactorily pass, a background investigation.

The Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General is an equal employment employer and does not make hiring decisions on the basis of race, sex/gender, color, age, national origin, genetic information, religion, or disability, so long as the disability does not render the person unable to perform the essential functions of the position for which employed with a reasonable accommodation. If reasonable accommodations are needed to apply for this position, please contact OAG Human Resources at (405) 521-3921 or HR@oag.ok.gov. All employees of the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General are "at will" employees.

Equal Opportunity Employment

The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.

Current active State of Oklahoma employees must apply for open positions internally through the Workday Jobs Hub.